


The Shelby Family Teleported Through Time

by kyloswarstars



Category: Peaky Blinders (TV)
Genre: AU, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:20:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26409358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kyloswarstars/pseuds/kyloswarstars
Summary: It seemed like all of your siblings barely had any time left for the family. You wanted to fix it all up and get back to what the Shelby siblings once were. At the Lee’s campsite you are gifted an ‚enchanted amber‘, along with the promise that it would help you get closer to your siblings again. Never did you think it would teleport you into another time: being faced by more problems than before.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 8





	1. To the Invasion of the Roman Empire

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve been working on this with a lot of dedication. Though, history was my favorite class in school (and I did a good amount of researches) I’m not an expert at all, so forgive me any historical mistakes 🌚

Life was good. Most of the times at least. 

Life was good, when you were allowed to move in with John and Esme in their house on the countryside. You were able to have fun times with the kids, or help out with chores, or watch them while Esme and John needed some time to themselves. They annoyed you with their screaming in the mornings, but at least they were a reliable alarm clock so you could do your favorite thing at John’s: go feed the chicken and collect the eggs.

Life was good, when Finn arrived there for the weekends and you could go on your little adventures into the woods. As kids, you went treasure hunting for everything the forest provided. Twigs you used as swords. Leaves you later pressed between book pages. But your favorite treasure? Stones. There had been times back in Small Heath, whenever you picked up a stone and put it in your pockets, other kids would make fun of it. Finn had always been there to pick up another stone and throw it at the bullies. You weren’t little kids anymore, so your strolls to the forest were accompanied by a bottle of whiskey, Isiah and a lot of foolish ideas.

Life was good, when you were not only with Finn but all of your siblings. And that was the problem. Lately, none of them had really the time to actually be with the family.

You sat on the steps of Zilpha’s caravan. Esme had brought you with her to the Lee’s campsite and was currently talking to her mother. Zilpha was supposed to tell Esme more about the baby growing in her belly. You looked at them, grinning at each other and then erupting into a loud chat again. It made you smile.

You liked it here like always, but you’d rather go and sit in the woods with Finn and get drunk right now. This morning, the idea of spending the day with the Lee’s seemed like the highlight of your week. Now, you couldn’t keep yourself from brooding over the situation with your siblings _again,_ and it made you… sad. And it wasn’t even Friday, so Finn wouldn’t even come out of town. _Great._

„Don’t you want to join us?“ Zilpha was walking up to you and stopped before she took the steps into her caravan.

You shook your head with a smile.

She didn’t hesitate and sat down next to you, her eyebrows pulled together. „What’s wrong, my child?“

„I…“ Life was not always good. Since living with John and his family it had gotten a lot easier for you, your temper being at a low level and your mood pretty static, though with some exceptions, but you knew how to handle them by now. You just couldn’t get your mind off of the fact that your siblings were drifting away from you and you didn’t know how to stop it. „Do you know when your family doesn’t feel like _your_ family anymore?“

„Yes, my dear.“

„Everyone is heading into different directions, which isn’t automatically a bad thing, but sometimes I feel like they don’t care as much for our family anymore. It’s always been us six – and I want that sibling bond back we once shared.“ 

Zilpha looked like she was thinking intensely about possible solutions to your problem. „What about sitting down with them and talk about it?“

„They are Shelby’s,“ you started and, despite it actually being pretty sad, it somehow made you laugh. „If I were able to sit them down all at once, they wouldn’t listen. Not to me.“

Again, her face scrunched in until a faint smile came to her lips. „Wait a second.“ She got up and disappeared into her caravan. You heard some drawers being opened and closed again. Zilpha walked down the steps with her fist closed around something. When she sat down next to you again, she reached out for your hand and placed something in it. With her hand above it, preventing you from seeing it yet, her smile got even wider. „Maybe this will help you to bring your siblings closer together.“

She pushed your hand back to you and removed her hands. A big, odd-shaped amber was laying in the palm of your hand. It was set in a thick golden frame, attached to a necklace. You held it up between your fingers. The amber itself sparkled already but when the sunlight hit it, you noticed all the little gold particles enclosed. 

„It’s an enchanted amber. When your thoughts, about the things you want to change, are strong enough, you’ll get a chance to change them.“

It wasn’t like you didn’t believe in cards or curses – but how could this little stone, combined with some wishful thinking, be able to fix your family issues?

With a thankful smile you handed it back to Esme’s mother. „I can’t take it.“ Besides the fact that you couldn’t believe a stone could solve a problem other than scaring away some bullies when it’s thrown at them, the stone seemed far too valuable. 

„It’s a wandering stone, Y/N. It’s meant to help those who need it.“ She opened the necklace, put it around your neck and closed it there. „Trust me, it’s not meant to lay in one of my drawers forever.“

Her words felt warm. And they didn’t leave much room for protest. She wouldn’t take it back. After all those years and the many weekends spent with the Lee’s, Zilpha felt like an aunt just as much as Polly was. Both were very stubborn women.

**/////**

The amber didn’t leave your neck anymore. Not even when you went to bed. Zilpha’s words faded but the beauty of the stone stayed as the weeks went on. _Stones._

Finn had noticed it. He thought you had a secret admirer and almost asked Isiah if it was him – which would’ve been bloody awkward. He didn’t, though. When you told him about how you got it, he pushed you to try it but you didn’t do it. It just seemed too far out of the possible area of supernatural things that could happen. Nothing could make the Shelby siblings get closer to each other again, other than themselves.

One day, though, you were back in Small Heath – John had asked if you wanted to come along when he sensed you were not doing too well. Your mood had dropped within the last days and this time you weren’t really able to handle it.

You had put the kettle on and waited for the water to boil. Finn was sitting with Ada at the kitchen table. She visited from London and you were happy John was able to convince you to come with him.

„Y/N!“ Ada was waving for your attention. You had stared at the cups in front of her and Finn on the table. Loosening your glance from it, you looked at your sister. „Do you wanna come down to London with me?“

Your first thought to her question was: Did Finn spill your private shite and now she asked out of pity?

„Um–“ The kettle started to whistle and allowed you to be able to escape the question. You brew the tea and sat down with the pot.

„So do you? I would love to have you. And Karl as well, I’m sure of that!“ She squeezed your hand over the table and you noticed Finn trying to not meet with your eyes. _He did tell her._ Nevertheless, Ada’s smile and her warm hand made the initial feeling of pity vanish.

Before you could answer, Arthur and John burst into the kitchen, followed by Tommy. John was, for whatever reason, carrying a rifle and Arthur tried to grab it from him. The boys were so loud, you couldn’t understand the words Ada was directing at you. She then shouted at them to be quiet.

„Don’t shut us up when we have to solve who’s gonna get that gun.“ Arthur seemed a little abrasive.

„It’s _mine,_ Arthur.“ John’s grip around the riffle was tight.

Tommy tried to defuse the situation but it didn’t really work out. Instead, he let himself get dragged into the fight. Ada repeatedly shouted at them to behave and Finn was chewing on some biscuits while watching the fight unfold.

Their voices triggered your brain to be flooded with all the thoughts that had kept following you through the last couple of months. They would never just be okay with each other. Every time you were all together, a simple discussion would turn into a fight and leave everyone frustrated.

Your fingers played with the amber around your neck. It had become a habit. The surface of it was the perfect level of smoothness for your thoughts to run a little slower when you brushed over it.

As the loud voices kept bickering with each other, your hand closed into a fist around the amber. You wanted them to be decent for once. You wanted to have a good time with your siblings without it breaking into a scuffle. The fingers around the amber were slowly starting to hurt but you couldn’t loosen the grip. You wanted your siblings to become siblings again which cared about each other and stuck together when times were hard – not drifting apart and leave everyone to their own fate.

_You wanted your family._

But what happened next was far from everything you ever wanted. 

Your surroundings began to blur, your head became dizzy with the strongest headache you had ever felt. Your stomach twisted, as if you’d have to throw up any second. The moment you bent forward to vomit, you didn’t look down at the kitchen floor like it should’ve been – you looked down onto grass. And fell face forward down to it when the chair, you were sitting on, vanished into thin air.

You noticed several thuds around you. Pushing yourself from the grass, you sat up and saw your siblings doing the same.

Green was everywhere around you. It spread as far as you could see with your still-blurry eyes. Small hills were surrounding you with some lonely trees and a lot of tall bushes that were plastered in large groups like they were discussing something. You swore to yourself that a few seconds ago you had been sitting in the kitchen at Watery Lane. _This is a dream,_ you tried to convince yourself.

The puzzled, deeply confused looks of your siblings, taking in the surroundings, made you question if you had gone insane. Were you actually in a ward and having a really lively episode of hallucinations?

„Shite what did just happen?“ John was getting up on his feet, the rifle tightly in his grip. He was frantically circling around himself.

Arthur pushed his hair back and stood next to him. „I swear to fucking hell if one of ya’ knocked us out and drove us to the countryside, thinking this would be a good prank, I’ll kill ya’!“ His eyes widened as he turned to John. „John Boy was that you? Because I wanted that rifle?“

„I swear I didn’t do shite,“ he defended himself instantly.

You slowly rose to your feet, the rest of your siblings doing the same. They seemed too realistic to be imagined. _Right?_

Tommy was silently observing the green around you. He didn’t respond when Arthur accused John on pulling a prank again and asked for Tom’s backup. For a second Tommy was looking at you. His glance stopped at the hand you had still wrapped around the amber.

_The amber._

„Fuck.“ You gasped and shut your eyes. _It’s an enchanted amber. When your thoughts, about the things you want to change, are strong enough, you’ll get a chance to change them._ This was supposed to be the chance? Sitting in the kitchen and being ripped out of it the next second, landing on a hill? This little stone couldn’t possibly do stuff like this. Things like this shouldn’t work. But it did. _Didn’t it?_

„I think I’m responsible for us being here,“ you blurted out. Removing your eyes from the stone in your hand, you found your siblings turning towards you. Five death stares were burning holes into your body.

„What the heck did you do?“ John walked over and hovered in front of you. He probably didn’t mean it, but his furious question scared you a little.

„However you did it bring us back,“ Arthur insisted and perfectly adapted John’s face.

Ada and Finn didn’t say anything since you landed on this grassland. Just like Tom. They were just as confused as John and Arthur. Just like you.

„Guys.“ Finn dragged the word for at least three seconds. With a hand above his eyes he stared into the distance. He lifted his arm to point at what he had found on a remote hill. „What is this?“

Tommy was shoving himself to the front of the pile your siblings and you had built. His eyes weren’t the best anymore, you knew that, but his glasses couldn’t help him right now because they were only for reading. „John, give me the rifle.“

„It’s mine,“ he tried to keep it, only to flinch at Tommy’s sudden outburst.

„Give me the fucking gun!“ Grabbing it from John, he placed the gun against his shoulder to look through the scope. Like your other siblings, you tried to make out what those tiny dots were that were coming closer pretty fast. A bad feeling grew in your stomach.

„Hide in those bushes,“ Tommy nervously ordered while turning around and pointing to a gathering of bushes a few feet away. He wasn’t one to easily lose his composure. That was why right now, sensing the slight touch of horror radiating off of him, everyone obeyed.

When you turned, your siblings where almost all hidden in the bushes, only noticeable by loud bickering. You followed them in, Tommy after you. Whoever was coming, Tom thought it would be better if they didn’t see you. That thought was making you anxious. Only some thorns cutting your cheek, when you kneeled down next to Finn, abled you to pull out of the anxiety creeping up on you.

Ada fought with John because he sat on her feet, Arthur was acting like a wasp was circling him because the thorns were all over him. Tommy ssssshhhed everyone.

Through the leaves you saw the dots coming closer. And as they got closer, you realised they were people – not wild horses which you would’ve preferred. Red and silver were dominating their appearances. Feet stomped down on the ground simultaneously.

„This is–,“ Tommy started.

John interrupted: „THE FUCKING CAVALRY.“

„Why do they look straight out of a history book?“ Ada.

„Because they–“

This time Arthur cut Tom off. „Because they are stupid idiots with tin helmets doing God knows what. Did we miss a fucking second war?“

„No, they–“

Finn was ignoring Tommy as well. „I think they don’t look like idiots in particular.“

„Yeah because ya’ know best how idiots look like, eh?“ Arthur retaliated. Finn slapped his arm for it.

„Will you ever shut up?“ You had enough of them not paying attention to Tommy because this feeling in your stomach told you Tom knew who those people were.

Everyone’s eyes were focused on them when they reached your bushes and passed without noticing the Shelby family cowering in them. „This,“ Tommy started once more in the quietest of whispers you had ever heard from him, „is a fucking cohort belonging to the Roman Empire.“

The Roman Empire. This answer was even more unsettling than your wildest guesses would’ve been. The Roman Empire – wasn’t that a thing around the time they said Jesus Christ was born? Around the time…

You gasped for air again and turned to Tommy with the widest eyes you ever felt having.

He only stared back at you.

„Y/N, tell me what that thing around your neck is.“ As a Roman cohort was still passing these bushes, Tommy came a little closer. His voice didn’t seem reproachful. He just wanted to figure out what was going on.

As soon as you had entered the bushes, your hand had grabbed around the amber again. You removed your fingers from it and saw Tom reaching out for it, holding it up to see it properly. „Y/N?“

„I… I… it’s–“ You snapped it out of his grip and closed your fist around it again. Some tears were welling up as you let your head hang low. It was your fault. You didn’t believe the amber was actually enchanted and now your were hiding from a fucking Roman cohort. „Zilpha gave it to me. Said it’s… enchanted.“

„What does that mean?“ John’s voice whisper-called-out and was immediately ssssshhhed by Tommy. He sat next to you and you waited for a reaction to your words but he only nodded.

Everyone stayed quiet until the Roman soldiers disappeared in the far distance again. They left a tramped down path behind. When Tommy finally allowed to leave the bushes, everyone sighed due to the stiffness in the muscles.

You strolled over to the path the cohort had been marching on. There wasn’t really a sun in the sky you could watch set, but the clouds were slowly turning darker. For how long were you sitting between those thorns? Shaking arms and legs to get rid of the tiredness in it, you saw Tommy coming over to you from the corner of your eye.

„Come on, Y/N. John and Finn are searching for some wood so we can light a fire.“ If it wasn’t for this weird situation you would’ve appreciated a Shelby bonfire. „Come, eh? We have to talk about this all.“

You dreaded going over to them. You were responsible for this mess – whatever this was you had done. They would punish you, you could feel it, when all you wanted was to be closer with your siblings again.

To your surprise the first thing Finn did, when he threw some twigs and branches he had collected to ground, was give you a hug. He stayed at your side when the questions began. They were hailing down at you, demanding an explanation.

„Wait. So, ya’ saying this stone got us here? Didn’t do a prank?“ Arthur wanted to make sure he didn’t have to kill his youngest sister, you, for pulling some shenanigans on them.

„Of course I didn’t do a prank like this.“ It was hard being the center of attention in a Shelby altercation. You’d rather stay on the sidelines – attention had never been your thing. „Even though you all would’ve deserved one,“ you muttered under your breath and noticed Finn chuckling.

John was occupied with getting a fire started with his matches, but he still furiously shouted over the complete grassland. A little louder and the stupid Roman cohort would come back and throw some spears at you. Or drag your asses to Rome and throw you in the Colosseum. „Tell us again what happened.“

„She gave the amber to me,“ you repeated. „She said it has to wander and help those that need the chance for a change.“

„What change did you want a chance at?“ Ada asked. She wasn’t furious like Arthur or John, just still confused.

„Fix the broken relationships with my siblings.“ This time you didn’t shy away. You stared back at your siblings and saw their faces become softer, a little guilty maybe as well.

„An enchanted amber,“ Tommy repeated, laughing in realisation at the words.

„A cursed one you mean, Tom.“ John succeeded at making a fire and pushed himself off the ground. A little less fuming, he looked at you. „Why would you even accept a cursed stone from Esme’s damn mother?“

You shrugged.

„I think enough blaming is done, eh?“ Tommy was waving you over to sit down with him, gesturing the others to join the fire as well. As absurd as this situation was, you were extremely glad Tom wasn’t as mad as your two other eldest brothers. It would’ve been hell if he went shouting at you as well.

He was a problem solver, a person that knew what was going on before everyone else did, he was the head of this family.

„What exactly did you do in the kitchen before we landed here?“

„I wanted us to be what we once were.“

„When Zilpha said you have to think about what you want the most, maybe try and get into that feeling you had in the kitchen?“ Ada took the spot next to you and warmed her hands at the fire.

„Okay.“ You closed your eyes, the hand still clenched around the amber on your neck. The thing you wanted most right now was to go home. And for your siblings not to be mad at you anymore. Some dinner would be nice as well. You tried to focus on that overwhelming feeling of loneliness even though you had been with your siblings back in the kitchen.

Nothing changed when you opened your eyes again. That dizziness and the twist in your stomach was missing. You remained sitting on the grass with the night turning the sky dark.

„It’s not working.“

„Try harder,“ John demanded.

„I did!“

„No you didn’t.“

You got up to your feet and let go off the stone, throwing your hands in the air. „What the bloody hell do _I_ know how this works.“ Your patience was wearing thin. There was a lot you could take before you flipped but you had a certain point, just like everyone else, when enough was enough.

They grew silent. Finn tried to ease the situation with the question as to where you even were.

„The fucking middle of nowhere,“ John cried out and let himself fall backwards to the grass.

Tom tugged at your sleeve and pulled you down again. He cleared his throat. „Actually, I think it’s the question of _when_ are we.“

It took a good minute until everyone comprehended Tommy’s words. Everyone turned at him, including you.

_When. Of course. But also: WHAT?_ The spinning wheel of thoughts about how this stone was able to do supernatural things was taking up speed in your head again. Voices erupted into a discussion. They demanded explanations and Tom was there to provide them. His brain was filled with a lot of stuff that came to your rescue, which you would've never needed if it wasn’t for the amber. The Roman Empire invaded Britain in the 1st century. Given the fact that the moment you sat in the kitchen was in the 1920s, you must’ve traveled almost two-thousand years back in time if you thought about it logically. Practically, you were fighting to get back a steady breathing rhythm because this… no.

You stared into the fire. „I teleported us through time.“

The raging voices died down.

Finn’s hand on your shoulder stroked you reassuringly. „You couldn’t know what would happen.“

John was the first one to join Finn’s statement. „Yeah, I’m sorry… for what I said. You just can’t trust Zilpha. It’s not your fault.“

„What are we going to do now?“ Ada, sitting between Finn and you, looked at Tommy.

„We’ll catch some sleep. Tomorrow we have to search for a village and adapt to… here.“ He pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lit one.

„The cigarettes!“ Arthur jumped up and fumbled through all of his pockets. „If we’re stuck here we have to make them last as long as possible.“ He infected John with the same concern about running out of cigarettes if you weren’t able to bring them back home soon. They spent a good while counting what they had left and rationed them.

You had to figure out a way to repeat what you had done in the kitchen and bring your asses home. If only for the fact that your brothers could smoke.

**/////**

Arthur and John competed for the loudest snore. Tommy was sitting patrol. Finn was curled up in a ball like always and Ada mumbled in her sleep next to you. You were watching the sun slowly rising from behind the horizon.

You hadn’t been able to sleep a single minute that night. For a while you had stared up at the sky. The stars had been way brighter than you ever saw them. Like a million tiny light bulbs and Finn was flicking the switch on and off for half of them, making them dance in your vision.

The amber was always in your hand, being played with and then held tight in your fist again. It was comforting to know it was in your hand when it had gained such a fundamental importance this night. If you dropped it, lost it, there would be no way you would ever return to your own time.

You wanted to go home. You wanted to know your siblings all safe and sound, in their beds and this all being nothing but a dream. You wanted to return this stone to Zilpha which would be the first stone ever you got rid of.

_You wanted your siblings to be real siblings again._

Suddenly that twist in your stomach reappeared. That thudding headache almost made you throw up again.

A second later it was bright daylight and you found yourself laying on soil. In front of you were two groups of people running up to each other. They were yielding swords and shouted battlecry’s. _What the fuck did you do now?_


	2. Into the 21st Century

When the first fighters reached their opponents, their swords were going down. You shut your eyes, expected an intense amount of blood to spill, but when you squeezed one eye open you couldn’t see any blood. Confused, you were watching two men yielding their swords at each other. One of them hit a shield and the other one was laughing when his blade came down to the neck of his enemy – and didn’t chop the head off. The guy, whose head should be rolling on the floor, let himself dramatically fall to the ground and joined in with the laughter of the man who just murdered-not-murdered him.

„Where the fuck are we now?“ John was the first one to speak after being ripped awake from his sleep to this weird sword fight.

The confusion of jumping through time was probably even bigger than the first time. Your siblings were all still fighting their sleepy eyes, except for Tommy and you. John was watching the fight with the most dumbfounded look you had ever seen him wearing on his face.

Arthur spoke with a crooked voice what you were thinking. „Why is no one dying in this battle?“

The guy who died but wasn’t dead, got up of the ground, and stood with his opponent and a warrior woman, looking in your direction.

„Guys.“ Finn dragged the word again for longer than necessary. „They are coming over! What should we do?“

John stood and held the rifle at ready. „Get all behind me. They don’t have a chance. Gun fucks sword.“

You gathered behind him like his children usually did. Something about the people coming up was off but you couldn’t pin it down. Only when they came to a halt a few feet away, you saw their battle gear looking incredibly fake – those were not real knights. If you didn’t teleport to the Middle Ages… where did you teleport to then?

„Nice costumes, lads!“ The dead man spoke first. „Today is the medieval role play battle, though. The staging of World War One should be next weekend.“

Their words went right over your head. Stealing a glance at your siblings you noticed them being more confused than ever. _Good, that you weren’t the only one._ You also noticed the boys growing stiff with the mention of war. 

The three in front of you were waiting for you to speak. Besides wearing fake knight armours they seemed a little older than you and Finn. Maybe in their twenties? What was going on?

„You’re playing civilians, right?“ The woman was offering a smile as she gestured at your appearances.

„Yes?“ Arthur questionably answered, placing a hand on the gun John still aimed at them and pushing it towards the ground.

Ada stepped out, even in front of Arthur and John. „We came a long way for this… staging.“

„You really didn’t know it’s only next weekend?“ The girl was looking at you with a compassionate, up cheering smile. 

Simultaneously, your siblings and you shook your heads. 

The dead guy seemed sympathetic as well. „Are you driving back home or do you have a place to stay?“ Guy number 2 still didn’t say a word, just stared at you like you stared at them.

„Unfortunately, I think it’s impossible for us to drive back home.“ Ada was doing really good with speaking for the whole pile of confused siblings. 

The three of them were looking at each other, shocked. They gathered together, arms around each other’s shoulders and heavily discussed something with their heads stuck together. A few minutes later they parted and came closer.

„We don’t have much space left but you’re welcome to stay. Cosplayers help cosplayers?“ They tried a smile again, even guy number 2.

„That would be truly generous, wouldn’t it be, family?“ Ada turned around, her eyes as big as the moon on the night sky and a finally-agree-expression. Everyone mumbled some sort of agreement.

„Cool! I am Boomer,“ the dead guy said, „this is my girlfriend Eliza.“ He delicately grabbed her hand and smiled at her with the most adoring glance you had ever witnessed.

„And I am Otter! Eliza’s brother!“ Guy number 2 who had killed dead guy, Boomer, nervously managed to smile at you and then glanced back to the ground. His mouth opened once more to say something but, other than some stuttering, nothing came out. He reminded you a lot of Curly.

Ada introduced all of you and sparked a conversation with the strangers who just invited you to stay with them. She tried to cover her question but for you, being time a sensitive topic lately, her asking ‚What date do we have?‘ raised a red flagg inside of your brain.

_„September, 27th.“_ Otter answered immediately.

„And the year?,“ Finn skipped in. _Holy shite, Finn. Make it more obvious please, yeah?_

Boomer, Eliza and Otter looked at you like they didn’t really know if Finn was joking.

Otter was again the one who answered. „2021.“

This time difference hit differently. Instead of jumping two-thousand years into the past, you went a hundred years into the future. A future each one of you Shelby’s would be dead in right now.

Ada tried to lead the conversation in another direction. Tommy helped her.

„Isn’t it a bit reckless of them to take six strangers in?“ Arthur whispered and you hit him, gesturing as to what the heck he was doing. You could be glad they offered you a place to stay. If your brother scared the shite out of them you could find out on your own how this damn 21st century worked.

The three of them weren’t a threat. They were passionate ‚cosplayers‘ taking part in a role play fight and started to walk you to their home after Ada and Tommy found out that 2021 was slightly better than 2020 – which had been ‚absolute horror‘.

You followed your three new friends and didn’t really know how to feel. Instead of back home, you had brought your family to this weird place. 

Walking downhill, through trees and slowly leaving the small forest you had crossed, Arthur sped up right behind Otter. You saw him examine the sword he carried.

„Wait, is this sword made out of cardboard?“

Otter sighed in desperation. „Well, yes… I had a replica of Gandalf’s Glamdring but Boomer decided it would be fun to cut his sandwich with it and destroyed it on the way of my room to the kitchen.“

„That’s a bummer, son. That Gandalf a friend of ya’? Maybe he can get ya’ a new one, eh?“

„Gandalf is _not_ a friend of mine.“

Arthur, being a little between confused and puzzled, let himself fall back to you and Finn. „Otter is–“

„Like Curly,“ Finn pointed out and shut up whatever Arthur wanted to say.

Their small, really worn-down house was settled right at the end of the village, which wasn’t too far from the little forest. You entered the property through the backyard and the house through a not locked backdoor. _So much for being scared of strangers in their home._

Otter was storming off as soon as he got inside. Boomer was backing away into the hallway, letting you stand in the entrance like some statues. „We’ll peel out of our costumes quick and be right back. Make yourselves at home. Beer is in the fridge!“

To be honest: everything was a shock. Until reaching their door, your surroundings didn’t vary as much to those in your time. But _inside_ of the house… your siblings were, once again, just as shocked as you were.

Following your siblings into a room, you at least recognised one thing: a sofa. You let yourself fall into it and were welcomed by its comfy cushions. It felt like it’s been years since you sat on one when it’s only been a day.

„Uh, what’s that?“ Arthur picked up a black casket with a lot of tiny keys on it like on a typewriter. He pushed one of them. A framed, black rectangle hanging on the wall suddenly came to life and showed a woman. Your heart made a jump. Good, you were sitting down already. Arthur let out a quiet scream but then stepped closer to this woman who was talking about the weather. This frame was like the pictures. Only smaller and with colors.

Tommy snapped the little casket out of Arthur’s hand and vividly pressed down to it until the woman disappeared again.

„Oi, listen up!“ He waved for you to gather around him and it was a torture standing up from that way to comfortable couch. „Fact is: We’re in the future so we might see stuff we never heard of. No. weird. questions. About anything. Behave, adapt, survive.“

Okay. Made sense to you.

„And Y/N!“ Tommy pointed at you, with the heads of your siblings turning and staring you down once more. „No fucking time travel without our permission. Who knows where we will end up next. Let us figure out some stuff first, eh?“

You nodded. 

Eliza was the first to come back. Instead of her fake armour she was wearing a shortsleeved shirt and some blue trousers. Those trousers looked so awesome you wanted to rip them from her and pull it on yourself.

„You don’t have to stand there like that. Come over to the kitchen,“ she waved at you to follow and you all did, entering a room that didn’t look like the kitchens you were used to. „Alexa, kitchen lights on,“ she said and a light on the ceiling magically brightened up the room.

Finn beside you stood there with his jaw dropped to the floor but could bite back a question like Tommy had ordered.

Eliza opened a closet _– WHICH HAD LIGHT INSIDE OF IT –_ grabbed some bottles and opened them. 

„Finally something I recognise,“ Arthur went over to her and snatched a bottle. He read the label, shrugged, and drank. Your siblings, confident with Arthur being the first one to stir out of that reservation you had all been in, broke into some chatting and gathered around Eliza.

Finn and you didn’t. He looked at you, you looked back. With a nod you went to that closet and pulled the door open.

„What is this?“ His whisper made you chuckle.

„I don’t fucking know.“ You touched some of the things you found inside. Yogurt, ham, a can with ‚coke‘ written on it? „It’s cold, Finn. It’s a cold closet.“ _Amazing._

John stuck his head between the two of you, noticing the red can. „Oi, Boomer. Can I try the coke?“

„You never had coke before?“ Him and Otter had come to the kitchen as well.

„Of course I did,“ John smirked and fished the can out of the cold closet. You closed it afterwards, watching him open the can and sniffing at it. „I think it’s a drink,“ he whispered. When he put it at his lips and sipped at it, his eyes grew wide. You lost track of how many times you saw your siblings eyes get big, or feel your own doing it, because it was worthless to even try counting.

He passed the can over to you, gesturing to take a sip as well. So you did. _Your eyes grew wide._ Nothing like the coke at home but incredibly awesome. When you handed it to Finn – who would’ve guessed – his eyes repeated what yours had done when he drank.

„Are you guys hungry?“ Boomer’s voice was able to silence everyone else’s.

Otter was brushing past you to the cold closet and got himself a coke. „Can we get pizza?“

„Sure. Pizza okay for everyone?“ Boomer earned a lot of agreeing yeses – not really knowing what you agreed to specifically but Tommy looked pleased with your way of ‚behave, adapt, survive‘.

Boomer pulled something out of his pocket which had all of you shook. He tapped at a really small, glowing whatever and then held it to his ear. Boomer spoke into it and asked for nine pizzas. Should this be a 21st century telephone? _Jesus Christ, help me._

It were some crazy sixty minutes that followed. Basically _everything_ was different and new and you couldn’t comprehend what people invented in only a hundred years. Ada and Tommy tried to gave reasonable answers to all of their questions. 

‚You are all siblings that liked to take part in role plays?‘ Yes, absolutely. Your dad introduced you to it because he was good with playing. _Especially with hide and seek. He was the undefeated master of staying hidden._

‚Where‘s your luggage?’ Well, you left in a hurry, thought you wouldn’t make it in time to the role play.

‚How did you get here?‘ No answer, just eh’s of Ada and Tommy. 

When Otter finally asked the most interesting question of why you couldn’t return home and come back next weekend – maybe he didn’t like strangers in the house but Boomer and Eliza outvoted him – the doorbell rang. The pizzas were delivered right to the front door. Each one of them in a cardboard box.

Tommy’s words were running through your mind. Behave, adapt, survive. You were all spread on the living room floor because the kitchen table wasn’t big enough to fit all nine of you. Luckily, Boomer dived right into his pizza so you could watch his actions and adapt them. You had exactly one bite which you already choked on it, laughing. Your siblings had done the exact same thing: watch and adapt. And as weird as this all was, it was too funny seeing them be little pupils in primary school.

„Are you okay?“ Boomer was sitting next to you and had already finished his first slice.

Nodding with a full mouth, you saw Tommy sending a warning glance at you.

„She’s just a little chaotic, our little Y/N.“ Arthur seemed to enjoy his pizza. He was ahead of Boomer.

You pulled a grimace for your brother and were relieved with the topic remaining only how great the pizza was throughout the rest of the pizza eating.

**/////**

Sweatpants, you learned, were the most comfortable piece of clothing you had ever worn. They were loose around your legs and no coldness could sweep under the skirt of your dress. It was beautiful when you laid down to sleep. 

Boomer, Eliza and Otter spread some mattresses and blankets in their basement. The Shelby campsite as Finn referred to it. And it totally was. Your siblings were laying next to you, kicking at each other for more space when they should sleep instead. 

You stared at the pocket watch you always carried with you. The concept of time differences were clear to you but you couldn’t recall anymore for how long you were actually gone from your own time. The thought about those you had left behind didn’t hit you before. Not until now. And now, it was eating you alive. Had you just vanished and the time back home carried on? Did it stop? What must they been thinking? 

Another time you were unable to fall asleep while your siblings were snoring next to you.

Did Zilpha know what would happen? If she knew she could’ve given you a warning. Would’ve only been fair.

At some point you fell asleep. The exhaustion was winning. Only to be woken a second later by Ada who was wearing a pair of that blue trousers Eliza wore yesterday.

„Where did you get those?“ You pulled at the trousers as you sat up. It was only Ada and you left in the basement.

„Eliza. You can have some too if you want.“

Thinking about it for a second you rather stayed in those sweatpants for now.

„Breakfast is waiting,“ she smiled and left for the stairs.

„Ada?“

„Yes?“

„How are you feeling about this? All of it?“ You didn’t have the chance yet to ask her about it.

She came back kneeling down and sighed. „To be honest I didn’t think something like this could be possible. Ever. I’m scared for Karl and the others. I’m scared we won’t get home. But all we can do right now is be patient and figure it all out.“ Ada reached out for your hands and pulled your sleepy body up with her. „But other than that… being in the future is the most amazing thing ever.“

„The fridge!“ You pointed out as she said it in the same moment as well.

„Come on,“ she linked her arm with yours and led you upstairs to the kitchen. The scent of freshly brewed coffee was welcoming you and you couldn’t wait to have a cup in your hands. Your brothers were behaving decently, adapting to the breakfast preparations in the 21st century and – currently – surviving.

The kitchen table fit six. John was sitting at the window, Finn and you on the kitchen counters. You almost dropped your cup when Otter, once again, asked the question as to why you were unable to return home.

„It’s too far away,“ Tommy stated.

Otter wasn’t really irritated by his answer. He continued. „What’s your surname again?“

„Shelby!“ John was munching on a toast when he shouted it proudly over from the window.

Otter pulled out his own glowing, tiny telephone and touched at it frequently. He looked from his phone up to Tommy then back to his phone. He repeatedly did this with everyone of you. When he finally looked up for good again _his_ eyes grew wide.

„You are all Marty McFly’s.“

You were what? The confusion was strong in your family. It wasn’t with Eliza and Boomer, though. They dropped their toasts and looked at Otter in shock. What was going on?

They jumped up, gathered behind Otter and looked at his telephone, still with their jaws dropped.

„Bloody hell!“ Boomers hands were clutching at his head in an unbelieving realisation.

„This makes so much sense.“ Eliza squeezed her brothers shoulder.

They were losing themselves in a conversation you just couldn’t follow. They were first of all talking way too fast. Then, using sentences like ‚maybe their flux capacitor isn’t working‘ and ‚what _is_ their flux capacitor even‘. Last but not least: Finn was anxiously swaying back and forth next to you, creeping you out with it and you almost pushed him off the counter for it.

When their hectic conversation slowly faded, your attention was pulled back to them again. For a minute there was only silence. Shelby’s were holding their breaths, as well as the 21st century’s.

„Are you actually from… another time?“

You dropped the mug out of your hand and heard it shatter on the floor. If you ever would’ve wanted to apply for the MI5 – they would never accept you in. Where did you mess up with behave, adapt, survive?

Your siblings were dead silent. And this silence lasted for as long as it took for John to get out of puberty – which had never happened.

Hopping of the counter, you kneeled down to pick up the pieces, the cup had decided to break into, not without some intensely shaking hands, though.

Slowly, the silence got awkward and Finn decided to put it to an end. „Y/N teleported us from 1925 to the fucking Roman Empire invading England and then to here and–“

Five ‚FINN!‘s were shouted through the room and shut him up.

„Bloody hell!“ Boomer exclaimed again. „This. Is. Awesome!“

„It is?“ John huffed. „I think it’s a nightmare.“

Otter jumped from his chair and came over to you, kneeled down and looked at the broken mug. „Eliza, there are shards,“ he said and stood up again. Otter patiently waited with his eyes closed until Eliza came over and helped you pick the rest of the cup up. When the broken pieces were making their way into the bin, Otter opened his eyes again. „How were you able to teleport through time?“ Eliza next to him was watching you in fascination. „Do you have a DeLorean?“ He asked further. „Nah, you can’t have one, it wouldn’t fit all of you in it.“

„I…“

„She brought us here with a cursed stone,“ Arthur threw in from the table.

Tommy looked like he wanted to ban dessert after dinner for all of you because you willingly engaged with the 21st century’s who just randomly asked if you were from a different time. He stood up and made his way over. „How would you even know we’re from a different time?“

„I googled,“ Otter shrugged. He pulled out his telephone, showed a glowing picture of Thomas as proof and immediately shoved the machine back into his pockets. Why would he not let you look a little longer at the photo of your brother?

„You can find us with that, eh?“

„Sure. I can find whatever I want.“ Otter seemed proud of being able to do that.

„Can you find horse racing results as well?“

_Um, Thomas? What about the how-could-you-find-us?_

„Of course,“ he pulled out his phone again and waited for Tommy to tell him what he should look for.

„Check the Epsom racetrack, maybe 1928.“

That was three years from now. _Holy shite._

„No, stop that, Otter!“ Eliza, probably having the same thought as you, intervened and stole the phone from him. „This is morally highly questionable. You’re basically giving him his own personal almanac.“

Once again, wide eyes were growing in the room but Otter continued anyway. He wasn’t questioning the fact you were from 1925, he just really wanted to know _how_ you were able to be with them right now. So, you told them. How you got the stone, what Zilpha said, what happened when you were sitting in the kitchen. It almost took an hour because one of your five siblings constantly interrupted with their own personal view of the events. It turned out, all the stuff you didn’t understand, which Otter and the others had been talking about, was from a movie about time travel. They tried to figure out logical parallels between the movie and what had happened with you.

Throughout the whole morning, everyone was highly invented into figuring out all the questionable things. The previous hesitation of Tommy with revealing your identities was wearing off because they knew who you were anyway. That Google knew it.

It was a wild ride and it was giving you a headache from overthinking it all. But it was relieving to have the extraordinary productive help of these ‚nerds‘, they called themselves. They were understanding way better what had happened than you, who had been through it.

„Okay, I think we should head to the supermarket. You need toothbrushes,“ Eliza stated. She divided the group and picked John, Finn and you to go with her to the store. „Because I won’t be able to carry all the stuff we need with that many people in the house.“

Tommy was standing up and called Finn and John over. „Boys, give me your watches. For all the expenses we’re causing.“

John picked his out of the waistcoat and stared at it for a moment. „Why don’t you give yours?“

„I gave this one to you for Christmas so it technically _is_ mine, eh?“

Finn just handed his over, not even caring anymore. John did eventually, too. When Tommy gave them to Eliza and told her to sell them later and use the money for all the inconveniences, John couldn’t bite back. „You’re getting good money for those. I mean they’re um… a hundred years old but still new. Don’t sell them below value!“

Shaking your head at him, you helped Eliza gather some stuff to head out. She said you would drive to the supermarket. She didn’t say cars looked like that a hundred years in the future.

John freaked out seeing it and wanted to drive but Eliza didn’t let him. Luckily. Finn was constantly opening and closing his automatic window while driving to the store. You were absolutely fascinated by the music coming out of the tiny speakers.

So far, the 21st century was amazing. And it got even better when Eliza showed you the supermarket. She said you acted like ‚aliens‘, starring at everything, touching all the fruits and trying every sample you could find. _You didn’t care._

John and Finn were pushing carts and scooting them down the aisles of sweets.

„Try it yourself, Y/N,“ Finn was waving you to him and you came over but weren’t sure about it.

„What if I crash into the shelf?“

„Okay,“ he turned around for your brother. „John, help me here a second, eh?“ Before you realised it, they were picking you up from the floor and sat you in one of the carts. Finn took a run-up and pushed your cart flying down the aisle. The sudden rush of perhaps getting called out for doing this and the possibility of crashing into a shelf made you laugh out loud. And Finn was joining in.

He helped you out of the cart again when you reached the end of the aisle and didn’t destroy anything.

John packed a lot of coke into his cart. Eliza was trying to pick as many healthy things she could find and at some point you lost Finn but found him in front of a huge variety of chocolate again.

The supermarket was a great experience. So was the car ride back. John was screaming at all the other cars you passed. Finn was playing with the windows again.

Back at their place, you ordered your other brothers to come and help unload all the groceries. It was a lot.

They filled you in on all the theories and solutions they’ve been going through while you were gone. The conclusion was: When you channeled your strongest wish, in this case your siblings being siblings again, the enchanted amber was somehow able to make you and your siblings jump in time randomly. Maybe your wish was somehow connected with where you were traveling to. That didn’t make any sense to you, though. The second time you did it and appeared here, you wanted to go home but didn’t.

Your siblings were convinced you should try it again tomorrow. You just shrugged and went to the bathroom. 

Their concept of toilets was awesome and still fascinating to you every time you flushed it. On your way back to the kitchen, you heard Otter talking to Eliza about Wikipedia entries and if he should tell you about them. Eliza said no and that was that. 

After having dinner in the evening and watching that time travel movie on their colourful rectangle – which had been absolutely fascinating – you found yourself collectively brushing teeth with your siblings and stepping on each others feet when you were done with it.

Otter’s cardboard sword was leaning at the stairs to the basement. You picked it up and went downstairs to your siblings.

„Fight me but I can’t be the only one enjoying this, right?“ You yielded the sword, imitating what you had seen Otter doing, and fake stabbed Arthur in the stomach. He played along, falling down to the blankets and coughed as if he was actually dying. „Actually, no. Don’t fight me because you’ll die.“ 

You turned to the next brother nearest to you, Tommy. With the sword on his neck, ready to fake chop his head off, he just stared at you. You stared back for a while. 

He let you win and pulled that infamous half-grin when you gave him his quietus. „Kids these days,“ were his last words when he let himself fall back to the mattress.

Tonight, you were finally able to sleep.

**/////**

Everyone was preparing for the next time jump. Saying goodbyes and thank yous. To be on the safer side this time, you sat on the grass in their backyard when your fingers wrapped around the amber.

Channeling your strongest wish. Okay.

You closed your eyes, channeling something was probably easier that way. Those two times before you didn’t know what you were doing. Boomer had told you to not think about it too much but Eliza said you had to think about it a lot.

All you wanted was to go home. It was scary to be teleported two-thousand years into the past. It was awesome to see the future. You didn’t really want to fall into a time where you probably wouldn’t meet such nice people as Boomer, Eliza and Otter.

But most of all, you still wanted to get your siblings back. And with that, another time, your insides were turning upside down and you could sense your surroundings shifting even though your eyes were closed.


	3. Right Into a Viking War

The sky was pitch-black. If it wasn’t for the burning houses you wouldn’t have been able to see the person next to you. Flames were making their way out of every second house, eating thatched roofs and burning people alive. Lifeless bodies were covering the ground. Desperate screams filled your ears. The smell of burned flesh instantly creeped in your nose and this time, still with the twisted stomach of your time jump, you bent forward and vomited into a corner of the dark alley.

A hand was touching your back as you gagged. It helped you sit up and get to your feet. Finn. The flickering flames all around you were brightening his face. He looked deeply worried.

None of your siblings were up for any jokes or blaming you for sending them here. Fear was winning over and made everyone step closer together. Your brothers shoved Ada and you behind their backs.

People were running through the alleys. Some tried to run away, others were running after them. Swords in their hands, mud under their boots and blood that was glueing their long hair together into big chunks.

„Please tell me this is a role play again,“ Finn spoke.

Tommy reached down to one of the many bodies and grabbed the sword from their grip. „I don’t think so.“ He examined the weapon and observed the people running past your sibling pile. 

„Did anyone of us fight with a sword yet? Except for me last night?“ You were worried and instantly wished Boomer, Eliza and Otter would’ve taught you some role play yielding techniques.

„No. But I think we will soon gain some experience,“ Tom nodded to your right. Two men were fighting at the end of the alley you were still in. Every time their swords met a metallic clicking was echoing over to you. One of them was slowly gaining the upper hand and placed several thrusts on his opponent. It took him one swift stroke to chop the other one’s head off.

Your eyes didn’t close soon enough to prevent yourself from seeing the head fall to the floor and rolling away.

The winner was turning around, spotted you and hurried over, driven by his blood frenzy.

Arthur grabbed a sword up himself, just in time for when the stranger reached you. He brought it up into the air, his arms shaking with not being used to the weight of the sword. Metallic clicking was ringing in the air when their swords met. Your oldest brother tried to parry the hits but the stranger was a warrior. He did to Arthur what he was probably doing for a long time now.

You closed your eyes again. You couldn’t see Arthur’s head fall to the floor as he tried to protect his siblings. That was something you wouldn’t be able to forget for the rest of your life.

An extremely loud gunshot next to you let your eyes fly open again, though. John was standing there with the rifle to his shoulder. In the chaos of the moment you forgot he still had that gun.

Arthur’s opponent was sinking to the muddy ground. He was dead. „Gun fucks sword,“ John stated with the smallest of a smirk.

„Fuck!“ Arthur wasn’t able to keep himself on his feet. He knelt down next to the dead man. „Who is the fucking enemy here, eh? This guy?“ First he pointed at the body in front of him, then to the one without a head at the end of the alley. „Or that guy?“

„When are we, Tom?“ Ada was stirring beside you.

Tommy knelt down next to Arthur. „That one looks like a Viking to me.“

„Bloody Vikings?“ John was losing his shite agin. „Can’t we just go back to our friends with the cardboard swords?“ He came over to you, an arm around your shoulders. „Can you bring us somewhere else?“

You closed the fist around the amber but it was pointless. Within this mess you would never be able to concentrate.

Ada and Finn were talking to each other in low voices. She seemed to calm him down.

A sudden voice startled you. „Who the fuck are you guys?“ When you turned and saw an armoured man coming to a stop in the dark alley, Arthur, together with Tom this time, stood up and held the sword in front of him. The stranger was looking at you closer, almost a little amused. „Travel theatre?“

„Are you the enemy?“ Arthur was still shaking but that wouldn’t hold him back from taking a second try at sword fighting.

„Fuck no. I’m just trying to save my own arse and get away from here. So, travel theatre?“

„Yes.“ Ada called out. Was she trying to lead the conversation again? To be honest, she had done a pretty good job back in the 21st century.

For a while the stranger was checking the surroundings and then observed you and your siblings again. „If you’re fast runners I can help you out of town if you want.“

The chances to die in this burning shithole were fifty-fifty. You had to get out for a fair chance at teleporting you to another time, or hopefully home. Tom shot a glance at you with a question mark imprinted on his face. You just nodded.

„Ok,“ he said to the stranger. And to the rest of you: „Everyone grabs a sword.“ You did as you were told. You knelt down into the cold mud to one of the countless dead people. Their fingers were already stiff around the hilt. You forcefully removed them with a whispered ‚sorry‘ on your lips. When you got back up, you spotted their belt with the scabbard attached to it. Once again, you knelt down, unbuckled the belt and yanked it free from under the lifeless body.

With the belt around your waist, and when everyone else had a sword too, you hurried after the stranger. He led you out of this alley and through many other ones. So many slaughtered people were plastering the way, the blood had seeped out of their bodies. You were unable to tell what outweighed: blood or mud on the ground. 

Your pulse was roaring in your ears and made it hard to understand the stranger’s voice, whenever he told you to follow as he changed directions.

He took a detour through a burning house. Some flames suddenly burst down from the roof as you left the single room into the backyard. They almost caught over to your clothes but someone pushed you. You fell to the ground, the smell of burned hair in the air, but out of range for the flames.

„Y/N!“ Finn helped you up, checked you for burnings, then grabbed your hand when he didn’t find any and hurried with you after your siblings.

It felt like it was never ending. You kept running even when you made it to the last house. You kept running when you left the wall behind your backs, which initial purpose to protect the village had failed. The screams of dying people let your feet continue to run, even though they grew distant when you reached a forest nearby. The stranger willingly guided you in. He repeatedly cursed, whenever a branch hit his face in the darkness, and kept up the high pace. You hadn’t done nearly enough boxing sessions at King Maine’s to keep up with that. Not without your lungs feeling like they were close to give out. Which brought up the question as to why this man was so good with running. Maybe he was a thief and running away was part of his job.

At some point you fell into a jog instead of the running. It was easier that way but not less tiring. The trees and their shadows were constantly surrounding you. The sounds of cracking branches under your steps were fading but it didn’t fully reach you until you ran into one of your siblings.

The stranger had stopped and everyone else had too.

„This should be five miles. We should be good.“ At least his voice seemed exhausted as well.

„No one will come after us?“ You heard Arthur ask but couldn’t pin down which of the shadows was him.

„Not tonight,“ the stranger responded. „Not when there are still women to be taken, ale to be drank and silver to rip out of the church.“

John’s voice was as breathless as your lungs felt. „Who are they?“

„What do you mean?“ The stranger was laughing at him. „Those are the fucking Danes.“

„Vikings,“ John pointed out, probably remembering Tommy’s words back in the alley.

The stranger laughed again. „Doesn’t matter what name you call them. Fucking barbarians, all of them.“

This pitch-black night, in a time where Vikings were all over England, which probably wasn’t even England yet, was creeping into your bones. One hand was wrapped around the amber, your other hand around the hilt of your sword. You had put it in the scabbard and it was dangerously dragging you to one side, constantly letting yourself fight for your balance. That thing was way too heavy but you wouldn’t dare to loosen the belt and put it away. Not after what you had seen in the village.

You wanted to go home. So bad. Your fingers were tight around the amber and your eyes shut. No twist appeared in your stomach, no dizzying headache.

„Well, thank you for bringing us out. We’ll head our way then.“ Tommy’s voice was cutting through and ripped your focus from the amber.

„Who said you could go? I didn’t.“ The stranger laughed once again, but this time it didn’t sound that devilish. Maybe he was just amused with what stupid folks you were. „I helped you, now you’ll help me.“

You heard some noises from below. Leaves and branches getting brushed together. Some clicking soon after. Not that metallic clicking of swords, though, more dull.

When a small flame came to life, being ignited by the stranger, it was as intense as the sun during daytime. Your eyes were blinded for a while until you eventually got used to it. It was relieving to see the outlines of your siblings faces again.

„We’ll crash down here for tonight.“ He sat down next to the flame and shoved more branches to it to let the fire grow. „My name is Alfred and if you don’t want to say your names that’s alright. But you’ll help me steal a horse and some other necessities I need, so I can travel south to Wessex.“

Tommy didn’t sat down, so none of the other Shelby’s did either. „Is this theft involving fighting?“

„It might.“ The stranger with a name now, Alfred, got rid of his sword and tried to close his fur coat tighter around his body. Seeing him warm his hands at the fire, with the adrenaline in your veins slowly subsiding, the coldness kicked in and sent shivers from your feet all the way up to your neck.

„We don’t know how to yield a sword.“

„Then I’ll show you.“ Alfred slapped his hand to the ground next to him. „What are you waiting for? Sit down.“

Your siblings waited for Tommy to make a decision. Your mind was circling around the words ‚behave, adapt, survive‘. Alfred thought you were travel theatre people, so you should behave like some.

Tommy sat down and everyone followed his example. Him and Ada were trying their best to pretend you were who Alfred assumed you were. He was talking about the Danes who had come to raid the town and that he had been too long in the North already. He asked where you were originally from. Ada, even amid the exhaustion of this day, was giving the best answer possible: „We’re a travel theatre. We travel, we don’t have a home.“

„And you always carry your belongings with you in those tiny bags?“ Alfred referred to the plain jute bags Eliza had given to each one of you. You had stuffed the sweatpants, she had given to you, in yours. As well as two stones. You had picked up a pebble stone as you sat in the bushes when that Roman cohort was passing by. And one from the parking lot as you went grocery shopping with Eliza in the 21st century.

Tommy was still nervous. „We like to be prepared, which seems to be a good thing when Danes are suddenly appearing.“

„Clever, should’ve thought about that as well. Then you wouldn’t have to help me get new things.“ He was laughing at his own statement. You didn’t like him at all. Sure, you were thankful he had guided you out of the flames, but you didn’t like sitting on this cold soil around a fire with this stranger.

It seemed you didn’t really have a choice for now, though. 

You slid closer to Finn who sat next to you. The night was getting colder minute by minute as you didn’t move around anymore. He laid his arm around you and pulled you into him. It was a little better for a while, but once the cold took over your body completely, it didn’t leave you anymore. You froze with your teeth clattering and noticed your siblings doing the same. Alfred’s fire was as effective as a candle.

**/////**

When the sun rose and covered you in its light, the shivering, which had followed you all through the night, finally lessened. You were entangled with Ada and Finn under your coats. A couple of times you fell asleep, but each time not for very long. You always woke with the image of all those lifeless bodies on the ground. The sword you stole from one of them was laying at your feet. And when the first daylight had brightened the people around you, your eyes were fixed on Alfred. He laid knocked out on the cold ground like nothing had happened. How many of those raids did you have to witness for it to become less haunting? You didn’t really want to know the answer.

Arthur and John decided to hunt some breakfast right after they woke up. Your empty stomach was crying out demandingly when the word ‚breakfast‘ fell. Their commotion woke up the rest of your siblings and Alfred.

Ada and Finn removed themselves from your arms where they’d been sleeping in last night. Your limbs were hurting as you moved for the first time in hours, so you got up on your feet to stretch your muscles.

„Y/N.“ Your sister gasped as she stared at you. She got on her feet as well. „There’s blood all over you.“

You didn’t get hurt last night, you were sure of that. When Finn pushed you away from the flames you fell, but you didn’t hurt yourself. So… the blood Ada was talking about must be from the dead.

Close to vomit again, Ada grabbed your hand. „Alfred, do you know if there is water somewhere?“

He observed the surroundings and tried to remember where you were. „I believe there’s a small stream in that direction.“

Ada instantly dragged you along, following the direction Alfred’s hand had gestured in.

You hadn’t noticed you had blood on yourself. Your siblings didn’t either last night with the little light the fire had brought.

The nausea in your stomach wanted to escape, but when you bent forward as you supported yourself at a tree, nothing came out. The gagging was worse when there was nothing left in your stomach. It brought hot tears to your eyes and it also brought back the screams of the dying people.

Ada dragged you further until she found the stream.

You hurried into it, not caring about your clothes that got soaked wet or the freezing water temperature. Your hands frantically splashed water to your face and tried to wash the blood all off. Along with your skin as it seemed by how forcefully you were scratching at it. You couldn’t stop yourself, though.

„Y/N.“ Ada grabbed your arms and held you still. „It’s okay. Let me help you.“

She guided you to a stone and sat you down on it. Ada pulled a handkerchief from her pocket, dipped it in the water and softly rubbed it against your temple.

Due to your rapid way of getting rid of the blood your clothes were all soaked now and your hair wet. Your body started to freeze again, after having a way too short time not doing so. Maybe you were also crying because that hot sting in your eyes didn’t stop. You didn’t understand why this was so upsetting. Back home you had seen a lot of blood as well, some dead people too, that was what came with being a Shelby. Here, this cruelty had a whole different impact.

„It’s okay,“ Ada repeated.

„It’s not.“ Pictures were flooding your vision again and they didn’t go away with shutting your eyes. „There were children. Dead on the ground.“

„I know.“ Her head hung low. Did she think about Karl? Did she think about all those mothers who lost a child last night? But those mothers were probably dead as well.

She continued washing the blood off of you, rinsed your hair once more and then walked back to the others with you.

Ada told Finn to collect some wood and start a decent fire, so you could dry yourself at it. At first, when Finn had managed to create a way bigger bonfire than Alfred the night before, those images were rushing back at you once more. You remained sitting there anyway and tried not to think about it with a fist tightly closed around the amber to help soothe your mind. Only when Arthur and John came back with two dead squirrels and a tiny rabbit, your brain was finally able to focus on something else. Their loud voices, bragging about how they hunted the animals with only their knives, was a welcoming distraction.

Your hunger came back when they roasted the animals over the fire. And it was relieving to finally assuage it.

Arthur chewed every last bit of meat off the bones. John was laying on his back again, floating in probably the same relief you felt. Tommy was talking to Alfred, but you couldn’t hear their conversation. Ada and Finn were sharing a rabbit leg and kept the fire burning.

„Time to teach you how to fight.“ Alfred finally said, putting an end to your breakfast gathering. It was foreign to receive a command from someone other than Thomas Shelby. But Tom followed his words, so everyone else did too. Behave, adapt, survive was the great motto.

It wasn’t actually swords you learned how to fight with. Alfred told you to cut some branches off a tree, remove the leaves and use them as swords. The first well-reasoned words you heard leaving his mouth.

Finn was your training partner when you mimicked the way Alfred was yielding his sword. You placed hits at Finn’s neck, his stomach, his chest, fake-cut his leg off and received the same in return. It reminded you a lot of your childhood, when you snuck out into the woods and pretended to be knights with your twig swords.

It was fun. The circumstances under which you learned how to yield a sword were not. 

„Y/N, help me find some more squirrels to roast over the fire, eh?“ Tommy, with a leaf less branch in his hand, came up to Finn and you. Alfred was occupied with Arthur, giving Tommy the opportunity to shoot one of his demanding looks at you.

„Sure,“ you replied, sensing that it wasn’t only the squirrels why he wanted you to come along.

Tom loudly announced you would go look for some lunch and then walked away from your little campsite.

He actually did look out for some animals crossing your path, a knife in his hand to throw if a chance would come up. You pulled your small knife out of your sock to increase your chances.

„How are you, Y/N?“ When you had left your siblings and Alfred behind, and couldn’t hear them anymore, Tommy stopped in his tracks and turned to you.

_Was he being serious?_ „I don’t know, how are _you?“_ The sudden anger which filled you with his question and caused you to snap at him, subsided immediately again because he was indeed serious. „I feel guilty,“ you admitted and walked off, looking for food. You missed the 21st century supermarket a lot right now.

„About?“ Tom came after you.

„Everything. I mean it’s clear you and the others blame me for getting us in this mess – which is totally justified because I _am_ the one to blame here.“

„Y/N–“

„And last night–“

„Y/N, stop it.“ Tommy grabbed your arm and stopped you from walking away again. „None of this is your fault. You couldn’t know what would happen with that amber. Your intentions were… brave.“ His hand pushed back his hair which had already grown out some. „Everyone knows we’re not the same anymore. No one admitted it, though. You were the one who wanted to change something.“

Thomas’ confession somehow caught you off guard. „If everyone’s aware of it why am I the only one who wants to change something then?“

„Because you’re the bravest out of all of us, I guess.“ A smirk was appearing on his lips.

„Sure, Tom.“ You rolled your eyes at him and continued searching for squirrels. They weren’t easy to be found and you wondered how your clumsy brothers John and Arthur were able to cull two of them.

A hedgehog was the only animal you laid eyes on. And you pushed Tom away when he wanted to throw his knife at it. „Don’t you dare,“ you half-laughed and continued the hunt.

Tommy successfully threw his knife at another small rabbit not long after the hedgehog incident. And it stayed with that animal. It wasn’t the time of day for the forest animals to stroll around and wait to be killed.

„Y/N,“ Tommy held you back when the voices of your siblings came into earshot again. His face was wearing the expression you had waited for: the initial purpose as to why he wanted you to accompany him. „I’ve talked to this Alfred. He’s a lot of trouble. When you’re ready, try to get us away from here, eh?“ Your hand automatically reached for the amber around your neck. „I don’t want any of us getting killed helping him steal whatever comes to his mind.“

You nodded.

Lunch. More sword training. Dinner, after Arthur and John came back from hunting. Again with squirrels. _How?_ And a bonfire, not made by Alfred, which would keep all of you warm this night.

One hand was around the amber, your other one was fumbling with the burned hair on your left side. You pulled the knife out of your sock and handed it to Ada.

„Can you make this go?“ You tugged at the burned hair with a questioning face.

„I never cut hair before.“

„I don’t really care. Just make the burned parts go away, okay?“

She nodded with a tiny smile and shuffled to sit behind you. It would’ve been easier to have scissors but Ada seemed to do well. She first cut off the tips of the burned parts and then tried to even it to the same length on the right side. You couldn’t see yourself but the fact alone, that the burned parts were gone and couldn’t remember you of that night anymore, was good enough.

John crawled over to you. „Oi, clean up my hair too?“

Arthur joined as well. „And mine?“

„I can try?“ Ada offered. You could feel she wasn’t sure about it. Their signature haircut was something complete different than your hair.

„Well, I’ll take Y/N for my hair. She’s better with a knife,“ John smirked. „No offence, Ada.“ Your brothers moved to sit in front of Ada and you. John gave you his knife, which was way bigger, because Ada already started on Arthur's hair with your knife.

Usually, John kept his hair combed back. Since you had left your Birmingham he hadn’t been able to do that really, so his curls created one big mess. You didn’t know what to do about that, so you decided to only shave the sides.

Pushing the blade to his skin and dragging it along, you were slightly scared to hurt him. And him constantly fidgeting around didn’t make it any better. „John Boy, stop moving for fuck’s sake,“ you whispered, highly concentrated to follow the line of his hair. He obeyed and let you finish one side. The other side was done pretty quickly as well, faster than Ada was with Arthur’s hair. Having a bigger blade was probably the only reason why.

„I mean the hair is gone,“ you stated, not really able to decide if the result was better than the mess before.

„It looks fine,“ Ada endorsed with a smile. You handed her John’s knife for the rest of Arthur’s hair.

„Can you fix up mine too?“ Finn’s voice was full of hope. Ada and you just looked at each other for a second, thinking exactly the same, and broke into a small laughter.

„Sorry, Finn. We ain’t gonna repeat that sin of a middle parting.“ As his twin sister you were permitted to tell him his middle parting wasn’t really suiting him, weren’t you? You liked his curls, your mother had granted him, way too much. „Time for you to get a real Blinder haircut I suggest?“

„Who even told you that middle parting was a good decision?“ Ada dragged him over and sat him between the two of you, tugging at his hair to think of a way to tame it.

„Arthur did!“ Finn pointed at him and almost got up to throw a punch at him, realising that Arthur probably didn’t suggest it in all honesty.

Arthur broke into laughter, this real loud laugh coming from deep inside his chest. It was infective. „Wanted to see how long he’d look like an idiot until he realises.“ His voice was cracking a few times, unable to bite back the laughter. „Didn’t happen yet.“

„Not cool, Arthur,“ you called him out.

He didn’t care, though, still laughing and joking with John about it. Ada started to work on Finn’s hair, having a harder job this time to shave his sides because his curls made it hard to cut a straight line.

„Tom, you want me to fix yours too, now we’re at it?“ You had helped Ada with your own knife this time and looked from Finn’s hair to Tommy. 

„Don’t worry, I’m handsome no matter what my hair looks like,“ he stated in all seriousness and for a few seconds everyone froze. You stared at him blankly and then, together with your siblings, even Tommy himself, you broke into the hardest fit of laughter you had in a long time.

You had such a good time that evening. Fixing your brothers hair had been something you had never done before, but the trust they had offered you made you happy. Tommy was all for jokes that evening and everyone joined in. Even Alfred was a bearable company tonight. He had been hunting and brought back a satisfying dinner.

Finn asked you why you didn’t tell him earlier that the middle parting looked odd. To be honest: It wasn’t your place to tell anyone how they should look like. And you didn’t really know why you had done it today. There was nothing wrong with him wearing his hair the way he liked. You knew, though, he was too much depending on the personal opinions on others. He shouldn’t be, though. Other opinions didn’t matter as long as he felt okay with himself.

Your heart was a little lighter today. Throughout the day you had been able to ban the pictures of the previous night. When the sun began to sat, they slowly crept up on you again, dancing in the flames of the bonfire.

The fist around the amber was tight. You were the only one able to save your siblings from whatever Alfred wanted you to do for him. You wanted to be stronger, together with them. Just not in the sword yielding way if possible. You wanted to go home. And you wanted your siblings to have more peace. You wanted more of those joking nights.

One of your siblings gasped in the exact same moment as your stomach started to twist. Your eyes were closed as you almost gladly welcomed your head hurting like it could explode any second.

When you opened your eyes again, you couldn’t believe what they were looking at. You knew those surroundings too well. Charlie’s Yard.


End file.
